TOKYO, Feb 12 (Reuters) - Nissan Motor ( NSANF ) said it expects to post a much smaller operating loss for this ​fiscal year than previously indicated, ‌as its turnaround plan progresses, as it reported ⁠a fall in profit for the third ⁠quarter.

The struggling Japanese automaker now ‌expects an ‌operating loss of 60 billion yen ($392.29 million) for ​the year to the ‌end of March, compared with its previous outlook for a 275 ​billion yen shortfall.

The ​results ‌highlight Nissan's ( NSANF ) push to stabilise earnings as it presses ahead with a sweeping ⁠turnaround plan that includes reducing its ⁠global manufacturing plants to 10 from 17 and reducing its workforce by 15%.

The company reported a 44% fall in ⁠operating ‌profit to 17.5 billion yen ‌for the October-December quarter, in the face ⁠of strong headwinds from U.S. tariffs.

The quarterly results compared with an average estimate of an 81 billion yen loss in a survey of six analysts by LSEG and a ​31.1 billion yen profit in the same period a year earlier.

($1 = 153.0100 yen)

(Reporting ​by Daniel Leussink; ‌Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman and ​Neil Fullick)